500 Things to do in the 500 Days until the Big 3-0: 159. All Downhill From Here

26th June 2014, Gröna Lund, Stockholm, Sweden

Good thing my nieces love rollercoasters as much as I do!

When my youngest munchkin was offered the chance to choose between going horse back riding or going roller coaster riding for her 8th birthday present, the answer was without a doubt the rollercoasters. And as her aunt, it is my job to ride rollercoasters with my two favourite girls if they want to go ride roller coasters!

All said and done, we headed off to Stockholm on an early train to get as many rollercoasters in as possible. It was hard to tell who was more excited, auntie or nieces!

As icing on the cake, Bestie had taken time out of her busy schedule to come hang with us on my favourite amusement field of all. Sadly, I haven't been there for years and it really was bloody time to go back.

We're literally just through the gates when both nieces grab hold of me and leads me straight to a glorious creation entitled the Wild Mouse. Chances are the park bosses did not quite think the name through as the word 'mouse' in Swedish does not just mean the cheese eating rodent (well...), but a very specific part of female anatomy that would not only be illegal to pay and queue up for, but also go against a number of my feministic values. I did not enjoy being in that queue.

My nieces however, were not bothered by this unfortunate name and spent the 35 minutes waiting for our turn jumping up and down with excitement. To quote my littlest munchkin; 'I'm so excited my mouth is watering'. You get her point.

After the initial fear of death and the expectation of its' immediate occurrence, we went down our first hill and then it all came screaming back to me. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE ROLLERCOASTERS.

So, after the single cart premiere ride, we went one to suspended rollercoasters, kiddie rollercoasters, wooden roller coasters and best of all, the classic and original roller coaster that was the first of it's kind in Sweden. It was also coincidentally the first rollercoaster I ever went on. Also the first roller coaster my mother went on. I don't think she has quite forgiven me since I made her do that.

Early afternoon, we were joined by the second greatest roller coaster enthusiast of the family, a.k.a my BIg Sis. And after a refreshing beer in the sunshine for me, Sis and Bestie and a bumper car ride for the girls, the roller coaster riding got properly going and we managed us another 10 or so rides. Plus breaks for popcorn, plastic duck shooting, plastic elephant riding and a few more beer.

After a wonderful but rather exhausting day with four of my favourite ladies in the world, I bribed the kids with candy to get them to leave for the train home and we said goodbye to the roller coasters this time around.

Now I just need to find the best roller coasters in the UK to keep this habit going!